No. 2: Utah Jazz
Outside of the LA Clippers, few teams were able to achieve what the Utah Jazz did this summer.
Not only did they add a talented veteran point guard in Mike Conley, but it felt as though every one of the best role players took their talents to Salt Lake City this summer. Bojan Boganovic and Ed Davis are just two of the plenty that chose the Jazz, and their play on both ends as well as their depth should make them a legitimate contender in 2019-2020.
The defensive ability of the Jazz is what used to scare teams, but it looks as though they’ve transformed into more of a two-way type of team. Conley is one of the best players in the league to never be named an All-Star, Bogdanovic just shot 42.5 percent from three-point range and scored 18.0 points per game last season, and Donovan Mitchell is still improving as well.
Rudy Gobert will return to the Jazz as well, serving as the defensive anchor for a team that allowed the fourth-fewest points per game last season. That should scare opposing teams, and especially ones that don’t do well in the paint.
Time will tell if their roster can deliver, but assuming everything works out, the Jazz should be in play for a top-three seed this season.